Rock Band 4 has new "Brutal" mode

For the rock stars who have mastered every song on Expert mode, while playing upside down with one eye open and gotten bored with it, there’s a new challenge. Harmonix announced the new “Brutal” mode. There aren’t any more new notes to hit in time as there are on Expert mode. No, quite the opposite in fact. They disappear!

Well, sort of. “Brutal” mode adds a transparent blue bar, shortly after the notes appear. As soon as the notes pass that bar, they disappear. So the player has to not only memorize the notes as they appear, but also anticipate when they are expected to pass the strum bar.

No one is expected to be perfect at this mode right away though. If the player is having some difficulty with this mode, the blue bar will lower, allowing the player more time to observe the notes before they disappear. On the flip side, if you’re playing with a group and one of you wants to be brutal, you all have to be brutal together. So choose your band members wisely.

This feature is set to be released December 8th. Harmonix announced that instead of planing to produce any further Rock Band games, like 5 or 6, that the developers will simply keep adding new updates and features to keep 4 with the times and ever changing waves of music and gaming. “Brutal” mode is just the beginning.